Keeping In Step Series Book 1 For You I Will
by BlakRose
Summary: T.J. Rhiter is a 15 year old boy just starting high school. But, he is also bass drum in the marching band. Read about his life and stuggles with a certain girl in the Keeping in Step series.
1. Author's Notes and Introduction

Author's Notes and Intro to Series  


Okay, so, this series is intended to revolve around my main character T.J. Rhiter, a 15 year-old starting high school. T.J. is also in marching band, and this series will cover his four years of it. I am currently working on the first book, entitled "For You I Will." I do not know how long this will end up being, so I just decided to call it a book anyway. I am actually going to try to make each book as long as I can. I usually only write short stories, so this is something new for me.

Anyways, I've only got a beginning to the first book, and I am sorry if it seems to drag on. I really wanted the reader to get a full idea of the main character, T.J., his personality, and his relationships. From the first chapter, the reader should know many things about T.J., like his patience levels and his crazy carefree attitude. The biggest reason I wrote the first chapter like I did was to give the reader a full picture of T.J.. Don't worry, I'll pick up the action in later chapters, and I ask that you please send me feedback! Let me know what you think, I am writing to improve my skills, so please, any reviews or suggestions are welcome!

So now, go read the first part of this book, I will be adding chapters as I write them. I also have a few other works in progress.

Thanks,

//BlakRose


	2. Chapter 1: Preparations

Keeping In Step Series Book 1 For You I Will

**Chapter One: Preparations**

My stereo blared out the words to a My Chemical Romance song as I paced about my room. I had spent the last two hours packing for band camp, which happened to start on Monday, two days away. It wouldn't normally take me so long to pack, but I was stocking up on food and packing things to do in the room after each day's practice. And, being the absent-minded teenager I am, I forgot where half of the stuff I wanted to pack is. Plus, my room's a mess. And now, I can't find the most important thing I'll need at band camp, my music. I had already torn apart my room while I was packing everything else, so now it's even harder to look for my music binder. I kneeled down on the floor beside my bed and halfway crawled under it.

"Socks, food wrappers, a couple of batteries, and no music," I said aloud from the floor. "Oh look, a pencil. I'll need that too." I forced myself up off the floor and tossed the pencil in my open suitcase which was perched on my bed. I crossed my arms as I looked up. "Music, music, music," I said to my reflection in the mirror above the dresser. I noticed the top of my hair was very dust coated, and it made my hair look even more of a dirty blonde than it already was. I brushed it out into the carpet, gave it an "oops...oh well" look, and continued my conversation. "If I was a piece of music, where would I hide?"

"How about under the bed in your brothers' room?" I jerked around to face the owner of the voice. It was my brother, Spencer, who had walked in while I was busy talking to the mirror. "Here," Spencer said, and tossed me a binder label "Bass".

"It was under your bed?" I asked, confused. "How did it get there?"

"Beats me, T.J., but it's not the first time," Spencer replied.

"Oh, so you were looking for your music too. And ya found mine instead," I said, looking towards the doorway Spencer was leaning in.

"No, don't be stupid. I actually keep up with my stuff." At this, Spencer shifted his eyes around the room.

"Uh-huh. So you just crawl under the bed for fun, okay, I gotcha," I continued with a sly smile forming.

"No," Spencer said, crossing his arms. "I...I lost my phone." He walked back to his room, I smiled.

I went back to packing. "Hello, music!" I said as I put it in the suitcase. 'Uh...hmmm. Now where did I put that bag of chips...?" I threw a few more things into my suitcase, only leaving out the necessary items such as my toothbrush. Other than that, I was packed and ready. I walked into my brother's room and found him bent over in the closet throwing things out of it. I dodged a jacket as it whizzed by, barely missing my head.

"So," I started. Spencer jumped.

"Don't do that!" Spencer said, surprised. "And no, I haven't found my phone yet." His dark brown eyes focused into my blue ones, and he scratched his dark blonde head. "I just can't place where I put it last."

"Did you leave it on?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well then can't you just call it and listen for where it rings?" I said in a dull tone. To me, it was the obvious thing to do. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Spencer's number. The cell phone's ringer sounded loudly from some corner in the room. Spencer went to the corner beside his dresser and dug his phone up out of a heap of clothes. "See." I said.

"I knew we kept you around here for some reason," Spencer joked. I answered with a sarcastic "Ha, ha."

"You all packed?" Spencer asked as he placed his phone on his night stand.

"Yeah, you?" I answered.

"Yep. Just wait till Monday, little brother, your first year at band camp. You'll have fun; I promise it's not all torture."

"Thanks," I said darkly. I knew it wasn't all going to be fun. Spencer had been to band camp three times before; this was his last year of band. And I had heard plenty of stories from the past three years. But, I still wanted to go, even if it was just to see what it was like from my own eyes. Yeah, I still really wanted to go, because I love music. I always have. I've been taking drum lessons since I was 10, and now at 15 I'm pretty good. Good enough for the drumline at West Furrow High School anyways. And that's another thing I love, playing the drums. I drive my parents, and sometimes even my brother, crazy because I play them so much at home. But it's hard to explain, music is simply my...life.

I walked back to my room. I heaved the gray suitcase on my bed into the floor and grabbed my skateboard from the corner. I dug my cell phone out of my pocket again and quickly dialed my friend's number. I waited as the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Skylar," I answered.

"Hey T.J., what's up?" she said.

"Well, you know I have to leave for band camp Monday, and I don't know if I'll get out of the house tomorrow, so you wanna go to the skate park for a while now?" I explained.

"Sure, I'll be right over." She hung up. I had known Skylar all my life, and she's my best friend. We always hit the skate parks and chill downtown during the summer, but I'll be busy with marching band later on. Skylar's not going to band camp, she does, however, play the guitar. I heard a knock at the door downstairs. It was probably Skylar, she only lived a few houses away.

I ran out of my room and down the stairs. My mom had already let Skylar in. "Bye Mom, I'll be back before dark...probably," I said.

"Are you all packed for camp?"

"Yeah, just finished." I answered.

"What am I going to do with him, Skylar? I can't keep him off the drums or out of the skate park for two seconds. I may just have to start going with him," my mother smiled. I had been smiling up until that last part.

"Yeah, not funny Mom," I said, going out the door. Skylar followed me. Lucky for us, the skate park was only a couple of streets over, and it was only 5:00. We should have a good run at the park before it got dark, and sometimes we even stayed until the park closed at 10:00. But if I pulled that stunt tonight, Mom'd skin me. She acts like I'm going away for a year or something, band camp only lasts for a week. I think she's just a little sensitive because it's my first band camp and it's Spencer's last.

Skylar and I entered the gates to the skate park and headed for the ramps. We did a few runs across those and moved on to the bowl and the rails. My foot caught one of the rails and my board threw me onto the ground. I was okay, just got the breath knocked out of me. I always seemed to make clumsy mistakes while I skated, I don't know why, I'm just naturally clumsy I guess. Skylar was a great skater, she hardly ever lost balance or fell. And she picked up new tricks really quickly too. We spent a couple of hours skating before I stopped.

"I better head home, Sky, Mom'll be wanting to bug me some more," I said. "Are you going home now too?"

"I'm gonna stay another hour or so," Skylar said. She walked over to me. "So I guess I'll see you when you get back from camp in a week!" She hugged me.

"Yeah, see you when I get back," I called as I walked towards the gates. It was a quiet, still, summer evening, and I walked home slowly. "That's gotta last you a week, T.J., no skating at camp," I thought to myself. I reached my house and let myself in. I glanced at the clock. It was about 7:30. I rounded the corner to go up the stairs, when _wham_. I ran right into my brother who was running down the stairs. I hit the floor and my board went a couple of feet to my left. Spencer caught himself before he fell by grabbing on to the banister.

"Ouch," I said as I rolled over and pulled myself up.

"Wow...are you alright?" Spencer asked as he stood up straight. We shared a dazed look before we both broke into uncontrollable laughter. I'm a klutz and I know it, but the fall was just too funny.

"Uh, something happen that I missed?" my father walked into the hallway. Spencer and I were still laughing.

"T.J. - and I- just totally - " Spencer started, pausing frequently to take a breath.

"Collided," I finished for him. I took a deep breath. "I was coming around the corner when _BAM_!," I smacked my hands together, "Spence and I ran smack into each other and I fell.

"And I missed it," my father said, laughing. "I always miss the moments when there needs to be a camera around." My father has a slight obsession with video cameras. He loves filming us, especially when we do something stupid like we just did. Spencer was still laughing, but I had calmed down a bit. I headed up the stairs.

"Okay, Spence, it wasn't _that_ funny," I said as I patted him on the shoulder. I continued up the stairs and into my room. I grabbed my stereo remote and jacked up the volume. Some song I had never heard before was playing, and it had a good beat. So, I started dancing stupidly. I can't help it, it's just the way I am. I dance like no one's watching, even if I'm at a school dance surrounded by a crowd. But it's okay, my friends love me for it. Plus, it's fun. My brother walked in and gave me a weird look.

"What in the WORLD are you doing?" he asked loudly.

"Me? Oh, I'm just being my normal, stupid, self!" I didn't stop dancing.

"Mom, Dad, T.J.'s loosing it! Don't tell me I have to spend a week at band camp with this guy!" Spencer yelled down the stairs.

"What's he doing?" my father called back.

"Dancing," Spencer said, and he walked into his room across the hall. My dad rushed up the stairs with his camera, just as I stopped.

"Aw, come on, I just got the camera going," my dad said as he looked through the eye piece.

"No, sorry, the moment has passed," I smiled.

"Again, I missed it AGAIN!" my dad said and went back downstairs laughing.

I walked over to my bed and cleaned some of the articles of clothing I didn't pack off into the floor. Since I had nothing better to do, I wasted my time playing video games and DDR with Spencer. The next time I looked at the clock, it read 10:45. I had to get up for church tomorrow so I got ready for bed. I tossed and turned a bit after I got in the bed until I found a suitable position to sleep in. I tried to get to sleep for about an hour when I finally gave up, changed my position several more times, and turned my radio on. I soon drifted off.

My alarm sounded early the next morning, too early. I glanced at the clock. It was 7:30. I dragged myself out of bed and grabbed the first thing out of my closet that I could get a hold of. I made my way to the bathroom, rubbing my eyes. If I hadn't opened them when I did, I would have ran into the closed bathroom door. "Aw man," I said to myself. I banged on the door. "Spencer, come on get out of the bathroom."

Spencer opened the door. He was dressed in jeans and a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt. Most of the teens and kids that went to our church, First Church of God, dressed casually.

"Aren't we cranky in the morning, gosh, don't have a cow."

"Can't, I have the inability to "have" anything. Just let me get dressed." Spencer moved out of the doorway and I walked in.

I went through my morning routine and quickly pulled on some jeans and an Element Skateboards t-shirt. I walked downstairs to the kitchen where Spencer was already sitting at the table with my dad. They were eating breakfast and my dad was reading the newspaper. I sat down and my mom put a plate of food in front of me. I got up and got myself some coffee, my dad and I are the only two in the family that drink it. He says it's not good for a 15 year old to drink as much coffee as I do, but I can't help it. I ate my food quickly and moved into the living room to watch television until I had to leave for church. There was never anything on television on Sunday mornings. I tossed the remote aside and sprawled out on the couch, upside down and halfway on halfway off. Spencer walked in a few moments later, and I was still in this position. He didn't say anything, because he knew that was my usual position for relaxing on the couch. Spencer plopped down beside me.

"Nothing on television?" he asked, noting my position.

"Nope!" I replied. My father stuck his head through the door.

"Come on guys, time to go," he said and went out the door. Spencer hopped up off the couch quickly and I was tossed into the floor. I landed with a loud _thud_ because I did nothing to stop my fall. Spencer laughed as he walked out the door.

"Come on klutz," he said as I got up and followed him. We all piled into Dad's 2006 Ford Mustang GT. It was midnight black with cherry red racer stripes. Spencer sometimes got the privilege of driving it, and I would get to soon. Well, I hoped I would get to soon.

We pulled up into the church's parking lot and got out of the car. My parents went on ahead inside the church and Spencer and I walked to our Sunday school class. Our church wasn't huge, so the whole youth had their classes in one section of the church. It was only divided into middle school and high school. Spencer and I sat through our class and walked over to the church for the service. Halfway through my stomach began to distract me. I managed to hold on until the sermon let out at 12:15. I booked it to the car, and Spencer came a few moments later.

"Where's Mom and Dad?" I asked impatiently.

"I don't know, in there talking with some of their church friends I guess," Spencer said. I groaned. Spencer pulled out his phone. He dialed Dad's cell number.

"Hey, Dad, where are y'all?" He paused. "Oh, well, you know how T.J. has a patience problem when it comes to food? Yeah, well, can we go home? He's starting to twitch." Spencer laughed at the last part and I glared at him. I wasn't twitching, though the rest was true.

About five minutes later, my parents came strolling out of the church and over to the car. We all got in.

"Who's hungry?" my dad asked. I answered with a defeated look.

"Oh, yeah, I guess you are," my dad said as he started the car. We headed towards the nearest Pizza Hut, my favorite place to eat. My dad stopped the car and I bolted inside. We were seated, and I ordered my usual medium pepperoni and cheese pizza with breadsticks. When the order finally came, I ate it all myself. We got in the car once again and drove home.

I walked through the door followed closely by my mom. "You and Spencer leave for band camp tomorrow…" she said.

"Yeah…I know." She grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. "Uhhh. Okay…Mom. Mom. Come on, it's not like I'm gonna be gone for a month or something, it's just a week. Besides, you'll get some peace and quiet for once."

"Yeah it will be awfully quiet. In the past three years, you were here while Spencer was away. It was never quiet with you running around." My mom laughed. "But this is your first year of camp, and Spencer's last. Next thing we know, he'll be in college, and you'll be going to your second year of camp, and then your third…and then it will be your last camp…" she trailed off.

"Cheer up, Mom," I said. "This week will go by fast. And it'll be all year before Spencer goes to college, and you still have three more years with me. I mean, come on, three more ENTIRE years to put up with me." I finished. She looked like she felt a little better.

I walked up the stairs into my room and looked at the clock. It was already 2:00. For lack of better things to do, once again, I situated myself in front of the television and played random video games until about 6:00. I was getting a little nervous about tomorrow because I wasn't exactly sure what band camp was all about. I wanted to find out, but that didn't stop me from being nervous. I get all this nervous energy built up inside of me when I start anticipating things, and I normally pace around or tap my foot loudly if I'm sitting down. So, at the dinner table, my parents and brother noted my underlying senses.

"Are you alright?" my mother sounded a bit worried.

"Huh. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm alright. No really, I'm fine, don't worry," I also talked a lot when I was nervous.

"He's fine Mom, he's just a little nervous about tomorrow, I know I was my first year too," Spencer said. "T.J., don't sweat about tomorrow, I promise it's not that bad."

"I'm fine," I said again. I continued to eat my meal and then retired once again to my room to play video games. They helped me keep my mind off of band camp. Before I knew it, it was ten o'clock. I decided to go ahead and go to bed because I had to be up early the next day. I tried to get comfortable in my bed but sleep just wouldn't come. I tried turning on the radio, but I still couldn't fall asleep. I turned over on my back and just stared at the ceiling. I finally fell asleep.

My alarm began to sound at six a.m. Monday morning. I rolled over to hit the snooze button and at the same time, my brother entered my room.

"Come on T.J., you gotta get up now. We have to be at school by 7:30," he said and walked back to his room. I groaned, got out of bed, and trudged to the bathroom to get ready. I quickly pulled on a pair of baggy jean shorts and a black shirt with the sleeves cut off at the shoulders. I combed my shaggy hair and put my contacts in.

"T.J.! Your breakfast is getting cold!" my mom yelled up at me.

"Okay Mom, I'll be there in a minute," I said. I finished up and ran down the stairs. To my surprise, Spencer and Dad weren't the only ones seated at the table eating.

"Hey T.J.," Skylar said cheerfully. She's always wide awake, even this early in the morning.

"Good morning Skylar," I said as I took my seat. I began eating after I poured a cup of coffee. My dad gave me the same look he gives me every morning when I do that. The kind of look that says "15 year old on coffee, not good." I looked back.

"What?" I asked. My dad just chuckled. I shrugged.

After I finished breakfast, I walked Skylar home.

"So…after band camp we start 9th grade," she started.

"Yeah. I know you're eager to go back to school," I said. She gave me a puzzled look. "Come on Sky, I know you. And I know you've got it bad for a certain guitarist at school…"

"I do not!" she retorted. "Okay, so I do. So what…It's not like I have a chance anyway."

"What do you mean you don't have a chance? You don't think you're good enough for him or something?"

"No…It's just. Guys like him don't date girls like me. I'm not pretty, I'm weird, and I… I don't know," she trailed off.

"Don't talk about yourself like that! Skylar, listen to me when I tell you this, any guy would be LUCKY to go out with you. You are pretty, no matter what you think, and you're awesome, trust me, I've known you long enough to know that. If he doesn't fall for you, then that's his lost. Heck, if he doesn't fall for you he needs to get his head checked!" I completed my rant. Skylar always said stuff like this. And the truth was, she just has no confidence in herself. She really is a great girl, and pretty too. If I hadn't known her as a sister all my life, I'd probably fall for her.

Skylar smiled. "Thanks T.J. You always know how to make me feel better," she said as she hugged me. "Well what about you? You didn't mention falling for anyone all of last year."

"Well I just, I don't know, haven't found the right girl. Besides, when I do she wouldn't like me anyway, I just have bad relationship luck," I said.

"Taylor Justin Rhiter," she began with my whole name. I hate it when she does that. I rolled my eyes. "How can you stand there and say all that stuff about me for doubting myself and then you go and do the same thing?!"

"It's different…" I began, but got cut off.

"No, it's not different T.J.! Trust me, I've known of certain people who have fallen for you in the past. You're a great guy. You've got good looks, a great personality, you're sweet, a great skater, AND an awesome drummer! Ok, HELLO, every girl's dream," Skylar fussed.

"Uh-huh. Sure," I simply said and smiled. Ha, she hates it when I do that.

"And if you keep dressing like that at band camp, I bet you'll get a lot of attention," she motioned to my shirt. "Plus, you're on drumline. And they definitely get a lot of attention."

We had reached Skylar's house. She headed for the door, but not before throwing a final word in there. "You just wait, I bet you come back from band camp with a girlfriend!!! See ya."

"I bet not!" I called back, smiling. I turned around and walked back to my house. Spencer was outside loading our suitcases into the car.

He saw me coming up the street. "Come on T.J., time to go. I already got everything in the car. We got to go now, we'll be late."

"I'm coming," I said. I went inside the house and grabbed my small Nike backpack for the bus ride to camp. My dad and Spencer got into the car. I hugged my mom goodbye and got in the car as well. My dad dropped us off in front of the bus at school. Spencer and I unloaded out suitcases and sat them near the bus to be loaded later. I threw my Nike backpack over my shoulder and went inside the school to the band room. Almost everyone was there, and they were sitting down waiting for our director, Mr. Pesh to start. Spencer and I dodged through the door as it was closing and sat down on the floor.

"Okay, it looks like almost everyone is here now," Mr. Pesh started. "In a few minutes, everyone will need to get their instrument cases and place them on the sidewalk beside the equipment bus. Also, please make sure that you place your suitcases beside the other two buses so they can be loaded as well. Colorguard, make sure you take your flags and put them near the equipment bus. Everyone else, make sure you have your music, pencils, drill books, and everything else you'll need before we leave. It will take about an hour or so to get to the camp. Alright, have at it," Mr. Pesh walked out the door to go to the busses.

Spencer and I got up and went to get our instruments. He went upstairs to the closet to get his trumpet case and I stayed downstairs to get my bass drum. I had to wait for a couple of the others to get their drums first. I grabbed my case and lugged it out to the sidewalk, and I walked back inside to get my carrier. I took the carrier outside and Spencer met me. He placed his case on the sidewalk.

"Have you gotten your music yet?" he asked. I shook my head. "Let's go, I haven't either."

We went back inside to the music shelves and dug out our music folders. I already had my binder, but some of the music was left in the band room from pre-camp practices. My mallets were also on the shelves. I grabbed my folder and the mallets before I walked back outside and got on the bus. Spencer went to sit with one of his friends and I was left alone. Most other people had already gotten on the bus, so there weren't many seats left. I sat down in an empty seat in front of two of my friends who played trombone.

"Hey Kayla, Michael," I said.

"Hey," they both said.

"Ready for band camp?" Michael asked me.

"Ready as I can be, I guess," I said. Kayla turned around to talk to someone

behind her, and Michael put his headphones in. I turned around to face forward in my seat. The bus was really crowded now, and people were still getting on.

"Excuse me," someone said. I looked up. "Is someone sitting here?" I shook my head. "May I sit here?" I nodded. A girl I had never seen before took the seat beside me. She had long brown hair with some blonde mixed in, and dark, dark, brown eyes. She was wearing a white tank top and black shorts. She was very pretty. I didn't notice I was staring for a few minutes, and I quickly looked away. She turned towards me.

"Sorry, but there weren't many seats left," she said.

"Oh, no, it's okay, I don't mind," I started talking a lot again. "Uh. My name's T.J."

"I'm Colleen," the girl smiled. She was even prettier when she did that. I smiled back. "So, what grade are you in?"

"9th," I said. "You?"

"Same. What do you play in band?"

"Oh, uh, bass drum," I said, holding up my mallets.

"Really? That's awesome! I've always loved music, and I wish I could be in the actual band instead of just the colorguard. My friends convinced me to join, and my other friends that are in band play instruments. They wanted me to join so we could hang out," Colleen said.

"There's nothing wrong with being on the guard," I said. "I mean, I know some people treat them unfairly, but don't worry, I'm not like that."

"Good...Yeah I don't like the way some people treat us, and I haven't even been here to witness it yet, it's just what I've heard from everyone else...And that fools a lot of people, they stereotype a girl just because she's in colorguard. I'm not like most girls," Colleen said.

"Really?" I smiled. "So, how are you different?"

"Well, I'm just not...I don't know...normal..."

"Then we make a good team, I'm as weird as they come," I laughed.

Colleen laughed too, "I mean, I'm not all girly-girl. I play guitar, drums, I skateboard, and the music I listen to is mostly rock and metal."

"No way..." I said. "You just practically described me, except I don't play guitar."

"Want to learn?" Colleen asked. I nodded. "I can teach you when we get back from camp or something. And you could help me on drums, I just started not too long ago."

'Wow, this girl is perfect,' I thought to myself. "Yeah, that'd be awesome," I said aloud.

"Well, look at that," Colleen said. "Five minutes into the bus ride and I've already made a new friend." I nodded.

"Wait, when did the bus leave the school?" I asked after a minute. Colleen just laughed.

"You're funny," she said. "Yeah, so I was worried I wouldn't meet any new people…I'm kinda shy around people that I don't know. So I thought it would be hard for me to make new friends…"

"Well, you've got me!" I laughed. "You don't strike me as the shy type though."

"Really?" Colleen seemed surprised. "Good."

Colleen and I talked and listened to music for the remainder of the bus ride. We had almost the exact same taste in music, so we just alternated sharing iPods. When we finally reached our destination, Mr. Pesh stood up.

"Alright everyone, when you get off the bus, get your instrument or flags, and your suitcase. Then go to the table at the door to get your room keys. If you need to, you can make two trips, but let's try and get this done quickly. The equipment team has already started unloading the bass drums and flags, so everyone needs to make sure they get their instrument as soon as they can.

"Hey, I'll catch up with you later?" I asked as Colleen and I got off of the bus.

"Yeah, like at dinner or something. See ya!" she went to get her luggage and flags.

I found my bass drum case and carrier and lugged them up the hill to the front door. Spencer and I would be sharing the same room, and he had already gotten our keys. I followed him to our room on the fourth floor and placed my drum and carrier in one corner and my small bag on the bed. I went back down to get my suitcase. I walked through the sea of multi colored bags and humongous suitcases until I found mine. Spencer found his as well, and we both carried them up the stairs to our room. As I walked through the door and threw my suitcase on the bed, I was thinking about practice everyday. "Great, I get to lug the drum up and down the stairs six times a day…Oh well, at least I'm first bass so it's not extremely big."

"You should go ahead and get settled in. We're supposed to meet Mr. Pesh in about and hour and a half for dinner," Spencer said as he began to unpack.

I nodded and began myself. I don't know what it is about unpacking, but I always like to do it, because it just gives me a sense of settling into wherever I'm staying, and it makes it seem more like home. I like to have things organized. First off, I took my bass drum out of its case and set it in the corner underneath a large shelf that ran across half of the wall. I put the case on top of the shelf and hooked the bass drum up to the carrier. I moved to my bed and moved it from against the window to a kind of diagonal in the corner of the room. Spencer's bed was across from mine against the wall like it was when we walked in. I opened my suitcase and unpacked clothes out onto the shelves and organized those. Then I moved on to things like my toothbrush and towels, and I placed the towels on a different shelf and my bathroom items in the medicine cabinet above the sink. I unloaded all of the food and stocked it onto yet another shelf on my side of the room. Spencer was unpacking his things into a dresser and shelves on his side. I placed a few things on the desk next to my bed, set my clock, and pulled my music and drill book out of my Nike backpack. I put them on the desk and placed mallets on top of them. I took my empty suitcase and put it on the large shelf next to my drum case. Spencer did the same with his. I glanced at the clock. About an hour had passed.

"Hey, want to go next door?" I asked Spencer. The dorm rooms at the college

band camp was help at was designed with rooms conjoined by a bathroom. Spencer nodded and we walked through the bathroom into the other dorm room. Michael and one of his friends, Pete, were rooming together.

"Hey guys, you all unpack---whoa," I said as I walked in. Michael and Pete were unpacking their suitcases, but I was distracted by the small TV and Playstation they had set up in their room. They also had two DDR mats sitting out on the floor.

"Hey T.J., Spencer," Michael said and Pete waved.

"How in the world did you guys cram all of _that_ into your suitcase with all your clothes and things?!" I asked excitedly.

"Oh, very, very, carefully," Michael said laughing. "Y'all can play anytime you want," he added.

"Thanks," Spencer said and I walked over to it.

"Alright Michael, I challenged you to a dance off!" I said as I stepped on the mat.

Michael accepted my challenge and we played through a game or two of DDR. I won one, and Michael won the other. By now it was around 4:30, and we had fifteen minutes before we were supposed to meet Mr. Pesh to go to dinner.

"Hey, we need to down to the fountain in the courtyard," Spencer said, noting the time.

"Yeah, let's go," Michael said. He grabbed a room key and Spencer went and got one of our keys. We all left from Pete and Michael's room and walked down to the water fountain, the meeting place for everyone before practices and meals. Mr. Pesh was already down there, and we walked up to wait for everyone else to show up. Some people were already sitting around the fountain, running their fingers through the water. Everyone had on shorts and short sleeves at least, it was very hot and humid out. I was beginning to wish I hadn't worn black. Spencer walked over to some people he knew and Michael and Pete went to sit by the fountain. I spotted Colleen. She hadn't seen me yet, so I walked over to her and sat down. She was sitting alone, but she was staring off into space.

"Hey," I said as I sat down.

"Oh, hey," she said as she snapped out of her trance like mode. "Sorry, I was just…I don't know, thinking. I do that a lot."

"No problem, I do too, mostly in class though." I said. Colleen laughed.

"So you all unpacked and everything?" she asked.

"Yeah, I've been done for about an hour…I was playing DDR. The guys next to me and my brother brought a Playstation and the DDR mats and everything," I said.

"Really? That's awesome," Colleen said. "I play that all the time at home."

"It sucks that they don't let girls be on the boy's floor and vice versa, I mean, there's parents on each floor too," I said. "Then you could play DDR against me!"

"Yeah I don't know why they think that everyone can't be trusted just because of our age. Some of us actually know how to act," she answered.

"Man, I'm hungry…" I started. "I wish we could just go to dinner on our own or

something. I'm starving…" I laughed. "I kinda get impatient when it comes to food."

Colleen smiled. "I'm pretty hungry too…I wonder if the food is any good here."

"I'm not sure, my brother, Spencer, has been here for the past three years. He said it's okay, but it's not his favorite," I said.

"I'll end up not liking it, but oh well, I have to eat it. It's either that or faint!" Colleen said. "I think we're about to go."

I looked over at Mr. Pesh. He stood up, it looked like everyone was here. "Alright everyone, as you know this will be the place we meet before everything, and I must stress that you be on time. If something happens, please let a chaperone know so we won't go looking for you. You may eat dinner in the cafeteria here, or you can go downstairs to the small food court. Finish your dinner by, let's see, 5:45 so you can have time to get back up to your rooms before we have practice. We will march from 6 to 9, so bring your drill books and pencils, and make sure you spray on some bug spray before you come down to the fountain. We will leave here to go to the practice field at exactly 6 o'clock."

With that, Mr. Pesh was done, and we made our way across a couple of parking lots to a different building. Inside, we all walked into the cafeteria.


	3. Chapter 2: High Caffeine Level

**Keeping In Step Series Book 1 For You I Will**

**Chapter 2 High Caffeine Level **

The cafeteria was very large, and well built. It was carpeted, the walls were mostly painted blue, and there were two lines for food. The band separated as some chose one line over the other, when in reality; both lines had the same food. Colleen and I got in the same line, and I strained to see was food they were serving up ahead.

Colleen laughed at my attempts to jump and see over the seniors in front of me. "Are you really that short?" she joked.

"Hey, I'm a good 5'6"!" I said as I jumped yet again. "The people in front of me are just about three feet taller!"

We waited in line for about ten minutes and we reached the front. I took a tray and a bundle of silverware from the stacks and began making my way down the line. I was starving, and everything looked good. I chose several large pieces of chicken, a side of mashed potatoes, another side of corn, and some bread. Colleen followed behind me through the line.

"Where do you want to sit?" she asked after she had gotten her food.

"Uhhh…well, we can go sit with the drumline, or the guard, whichever, I don't care," I said as I looked around at the tables.

"I don't really want to sit with the guard…I mean, I'm going to have to spend enough time with them as it is, and I personally don't get along with most of them," Colleen said.

"How about that table over there? We'll be different, we'll sit away from everyone," I laughed. Colleen and I walked over to the empty table and began to eat.

"So, why don't you get along with the other guard members?" I asked.

"Oh, it's just that some of them actually do fit perfectly into the stereotype that we are all given You know, they're only concerned about how they look, how they dress, they think everyone likes them, and they think they are just the best things in the world. I can't _stand_ people like that. Now some of the guard members are okay, like Elise and Sabine. I get along with them alright. They aren't like the others."

"You're not like the others," I said before I could stop myself. I had been watching her the entire time she was talking, but she hadn't noticed. She would look down or over at the guard members while she was talking, and I was thankful for that. She smiled. "I mean, you definitely don't seem like the others, especially from what you've already told me about yourself, and about them." I said.

"Thanks," Colleen said. I'm glad some people can actually look beyond an incorrect stereotype…I've met some people already that apparently can't. Some people think we shouldn't behere. But if we're going to work just like they are, why can't they just accept that we do deserve to be here?" Colleen asked.

"I know what you mean," I said truthfully. "I know some people that are like that. And they shouldn't be. At least not to you and the members of the guard that are actually decent people. But I don't care how they treat the ones that act like they're all that and don't want to work," I said.

"Same here, I don't care how they get treated either…In fact, I bet I'm gonna have some issues with them soon," Colleen laughed. "Great, now I'm beginning to dread it, I get to have almost everyone in my section hate me."

"It's okay, who cares what they think anyway? You can hang out with me and the drumline," I said. Noting Colleen uneasy look I added, "Oh, they won't be biased to you. Just be yourself, they'll like you."

Colleen nodded, "Thanks."

"See and now they can hate you even more, because you'll always be hanging out with your friends on drumline, and they won't be able to cause of their attitudes. We won't talk to them," I laughed. Colleen mouthed, "YES!"

By now we had both finished eating, so we emptied our trays and headed back to the dorm rooms. I said goodbye to Colleen on the third floor and headed up to my room. The door was open, and Spencer was just leaving. He walked back inside when I got there. I went over to my drum and picked it up, lifting the carrier over my head. I grabbed my drill book and pencil and headed down to the fountain with Spencer.

"So who was that girl you were talking to?" he asked on the way down there.

"Oh, the one I was sitting with? Her name is Colleen. I met her on the bus," I said. I nearly tripped going down the stairs. I wasn't used to having to walk down the stairs with the drum blocking my view.

"Why don't you walk down sideways?" Spencer asked.

"Oh," I said. "Yeah that would probably make more sense." I turned sideways and began to crabwalk down the stairs.

"So what instrument does she play?" Spencer asked. I looked at him funny. "The girl. Colleen?"

"OH! Her. Well, she's on the colorguard," I said.

"Is she one of the cool ones or the stuck up ones?" Spencer asked.

"One of the cool ones of course! I can't stand stuck up people," I said. "But she's really awesome, I mean, she plays the guitar, and the drums, and she loves metal music. She isn't like most of the other girls on the colorguard. Why do you think I talk to her?"

"Well that's good, trust me, you don't want to get involved with the stuck up ones, they're no good. Most people ignore them," Spencer said.

"That's what I'm planning on doing," I laughed.

By now, Spencer and I had reached the fountain. It looked like everyone was there. I noticed the obvious segregation. I'm sure some of it was unintentional, because a lot of people in the same sections are friends anyway. The trumpets were all sitting together, the clarinets were talking to the flutes, the drumline was all together, and the colorguard was all in one area. Then I noticed Colleen sitting down by the fountain by herself. I sat down beside her. She smiled, I returned the smile. Mr. Pesh began.

"Alright everyone, I hope you remembered to bring your drill books and pencils," Mr. Pesh started.

"Oh snap!" a boy with brown hair holding a trumpet said.

"Yes, Mr. Hanlik?" Mr. Pesh looked in the boy's direction.

"Uh, I left my drill book in my room, sir," the boy said and looked at the ground.

"Go and get it, be quick," Mr. Pesh said. "While he's gone, I will go over the basic rules with the rest of you. You should have already heard these, but just in case you haven't, listen now. Everyone is to bring their drill books and pencils to every marching practice. Also, bring your instruments, we won't always use them but you need to always have them with you. Failure to bring your materials to rehearsal will result in push-ups. Today you will be given three poker chips to use as placeholders during practice. You need to bring these to practice with you as well. Our practice field is over that bridge and on the left of the path. Alright, let's go," Mr. Pesh finished and we all followed him to the field. It wasn't a long trek, thank goodness.

Colleen lugged her flags and helped me watch out for people in front of me because I couldn't see over the bass drum very well. "First practice," she said as we went over the bridge. There was a small river below it. Beyond it, a path stretched out for miles in both directions. Our field was on the left right after the bridge.

"Yep," I said. "We get do this twice a day, every day. How fun. Especially tomorrow…"

"Yeah I am beginning to dread this even more," Colleen said. We had reached the field.

"I'll see you after practice?" Colleen asked. I nodded and found the rest of the drumline. Our drumline wasn't huge, but it was bigger than most of the drumlines in our school district. It was made up of four bass drums, three cymbals, four quads, and three snares.

"Okay, everyone," Mr. Pesh spoke into a megaphone. "Sit your instruments on the side here, and go to the first set of song one." Everyone placed their instruments on the ground by sections and we all studied our drill books for a brief moment.

"Drumline, over here," Chase, our section leader waved us over. We were right in the middle of the field, surrounded on one side by saxophones and on the other by trumpets. The line found their places quickly except for the freshmen, including me. I was supposed to be right next to the 50 yard line, 12 steps off of the hash. I decided to just wait and let Chase count it off for me. Chase finished marking off one of the quad players and moved on to me. He placed his feet on the 50 yard line hash mark and began to mark off 12 steps. I moved to my spot.

"Memorize these spots people! Section leaders, see me up front real quick," Mr. Pesh said. All of the section leaders ran to the front of the field where Mr. Pesh stood. A few moments later, they returned to their sections and gave everyone in their section three poker chips.

"Now," Mr. Pesh continued. "Do not loose these! Always bring them with you to marching practice. You may want to take a marker and write your name on these in case you do happen to misplace one. Put the white one in this spot, and move to your next spot."

Everyone dropped a white poker chip on the ground. I pushed mine into the ground a little bit with my foot. I opened the drill and looked for my next spot. Chase helped me find it. Here, we were told to drop a blue chip. We then moved on to our next spot where we dropped the red chip.

"Go back to the very beginning," Mr. Pesh said. Everyone ran back to their white chips. "Now, march the first three sets. There is a 16 count hold at the beginning. Count aloud starting with the hold."

Everyone held for 16 counts and moved through the first 3 sets. Mr. Pesh expected us to count, and we did. In marching band, that means scream. Chase bellowed as loud as he could and the rest of the drumline followed his lead. For three hours, we went through the process of marching set to set and picking up and dropping poker chips. It was almost nine o'clock when Mr. Pesh finally called us all to the front.

"Great job today everyone," Mr. Pesh said. "Let's do all week like this. Great job on the counting too. Remember, marching practice tomorrow morning is from 8:30 until 12:30. Tonight, you must be in your rooms by 10:45. Chaperones will be performing a routine room check at 11. You need to be getting ready and going to bed. I cannot stress how important rest is while you are here at camp. You will need to get up in the morning at 6. Breakfast is at 7:15. Meet at the fountain like always," Mr. Pesh finished and began walking back towards the dorm rooms.

I put on my bass drum, stuck my mallets in my back pocket, and put my drill book on top of my drum. I headed towards the dorm rooms. Colleen joined me.

"So, what are you planning on doing until curfew?" she asked.

"Uh…don't know, I haven't really thought about it," I answered truthfully.

"Would you like to come to the pool with me?" she asked. I nodded.

"I'll meet you at the fountain in a few," I said. We had reached the door to our section of the dorm rooms. I went up to my room, put away my drum and drill book and changed into my swim shorts. I grabbed a towel and threw it over my shoulder. Outside, a few people were sitting on benches talking. A few of the girls looked at me as I walked by. It made me think back to what Skylar had said before I left for camp. I laughed, thinking about it. "Na, they probably just think you're a freak," I thought to myself. I saw Colleen by the fountain. She was wearing a red tank top and black short shorts. I looked her over once before she noticed me walking up. Her outfit showed off her figure nicely.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's go," I said. "Wait; do you know where the pool is?"

"Uh…I was hoping you did," she said. "I think it's in that building over there." She pointed. "In the basement."

"Might as well try," I said. We headed in that direction. Colleen wrapped her towel around her shoulders. I looked at her and she explained.

"I always feel like people are looking at me," she said. "I don't like it."

"Why?"

"I mean, because I always swim in shorts and a tank top. I never wear an actual swim suit. When I go to the beach or whatever, I surf and skim board. I always wear stuff like this to do it in, and then I just go straight to the pool. So it's a habit now, and I always get some funny looks," Colleen said.

"Don't worry about, it doesn't look bad," I smiled. She returned the smile, and I thought I saw her blush. "Besides, who cares what other people think anyway?"

We reached the building we thought the pool was in. After a couple of tries on different doors, we found it. There weren't a lot of people there, but enough to make me wish there was more than one pool. I looked around. "Crap, was I supposed to wear a shirt?" I thought to myself. I couldn't remember Mr. Pesh saying anything about it. Some other guys weren't either so I let it go. Several guys from the drumline were there, and they waved me over.

"Want to play?" one of them asked.

"Uh," I looked to Colleen. She nodded. "Sure," I said.

Colleen and I got in the water. The guys from the drumline were playing some sort of game using a football with several members of the trumpet section. Colleen and I joined in. The game went on for some time with me stupidly tripping and sending myself underwater at least twice. Colleen caught the ball that was coming towards me.

"Hey, come on," I said. "Give it!" I laughed. She refused to give it. She turned her back to me and I came up behind her and put my arms around her, trying to get the ball. I couldn't get it from her. I didn't know if she was ticklish or not, but I tried, and she was. I laughed as she screamed and I got the ball from her and tossed it to a fellow drumline member. She looked at me and began to laugh; I smiled and acted like I was going to come after her again. She backed up a little, laughing. I glanced at the clock. It was 10:30.

"Hey we better head back, guys," I said, indicating the clock. Everyone got out of the water, and I caught up to Colleen.

"Hey, sorry about earlier, I was just trying to get the ball from you, and I don't know if you're open or---" I started.

She cut me off, "It's okay, really. Yeah, I'm an open person, it doesn't matter."

"Okay," I said. "I didn't want to offend you or anything," I laughed. We reached the dorms rooms and we said goodnight. I entered my room. Spencer was in the bathroom. I lay down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. I started daydreaming, without even realizing I was doing it. I'm not sure if it started then, or the first time I saw her, but I think I've developed a crush on Colleen. As I lie there thinking about her, Spencer finished in the bathroom and came out. He sat down on his own bed and looked at me. I was oblivious to this at first, because I was still deep in thought.

"So," Spencer said, breaking me out of my daydreams. "Who's the girl?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, sitting up.

"Oh come on, I know you weren't lying there smiling at the ceiling because you're so thrilled about being at band camp," Spencer said.

"Alright, alright," I confessed. "Remember Colleen?"

"The guard chick?"

"Yes, don't call her that," I said. "She's more than that. She's not like the rest."

"Okay, so you're in love with Colleen?" Spencer asked.

"I wouldn't say in love. I just met her. But I'm well on my way, yes," I decided.

"Whatever little brother, I saw that look, I say it's love," Spencer said. He rolled over on his bed and tried to sleep. I got up and took a shower, brushed my teeth, and removed my contacts. I tried to make my way back to the bed without falling over anything, and I actually did so successfully. I got in the hard, uncomfortable bed, and thinking of Colleen, fell asleep.

It was 6:00 am. "Too early," I thought as I got out of bed and got ready. Spencer was already up and dressed. I got ready quickly. It was about 7 now, so Spencer and I headed down to the fountain.

"Man, I'm starving," I said as we reached the fountain.

"So what else is new with you?" Spencer asked. "Hey, look, it's that Colleen chick."

"And?" I asked.

"And?" Spencer repeated. "Go ask her out!"

I'm not sure what convinced me to do it, but I walked over to Colleen. Maybe it was all the thinking I did last night.

"Hey Colleen," I said as I walked up.

"Hey!"

"Uh, I wanted to ask you something," I started. "…I know we practically just met, but I can't stand it any longer, so I was just wondering if you'd be my girlfriend?" I couldn't believe I had just said it.

Colleen looked at me for a moment without saying anything. Then she smiled. "Of course I'll be your girlfriend. Honestly, I was hoping you'd ask me," she said.

We began to walk to breakfast when…

I woke to the sound of drumsticks beating on the steel door. It was 6:00 am. I couldn't believe it. It had all been a dream. Nothing but a lousy dream. "Aw, man!" I thought to myself. I hate when that happens…

I pulled myself out of the bed, Spencer was sound asleep. I opened the door to let the drum major know we were getting up so he could stop banging on the door. I closed the door and went over to Spencer. The racket hadn't woken him up.

"Hey," I said, shaking Spencer. "Hey, Spence. Come on, it's time to get up." I started to shake him more violently and he finally awoke.

"Huh-what?" he said groggily. "Six o'clock already?" He got up.

I put my contacts in, I didn't trust myself to get ready without them. I don't exactly have the best eyesight in the world. I pulled on a pair of baggy black jean shorts and a grey sleeveless Adio shirt. Spencer threw on a white t-shirt and some jean shorts and plopped back down on the bed.

"Come on, it's 7, we gotta go," I said, dragging him off of the bed. I walked through the bathroom and knocked on Michael and Peter's door. "Are you ready to go?" I asked.

Michael and Peter joined Spencer and I as we walked down to the fountain. They ventured off in random directions. I looked for Colleen as I remember the all too real dream I had had. I wondered if I should give it a try…

Colleen came up behind me and placed her hands over my eyes. "Guess who?" she asked.

"Nice try, but next time you might want to try and disguise your voice, Colleen," I laughed.

"I _always_ forget to do that," she laughed. She was wearing a black girl cut Element tank top and black shorts. She pulled a skater look off perfectly.

Mr. Pesh called for our attention. "You have until 8:30 to eat. By that time, you need to be at the fountain. Bring your instruments, drill books, and poker chips. Don't forget a pencil as well," Mr. Pesh finished. He walked ahead of the band to the cafeteria.

Colleen and I waited in line and got our breakfast. We chose our same table from the day before. I had been quiet most of the time. I just couldn't stop thinking about that dream. I wanted to act on it so badly. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Not yet, anyways. And I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to do it. Colleen noticed my unusual quiet behavior.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with concern in her voice.

"Huh?" I asked. I was in a trace-like mode, still thinking about the dream I had last night.

"You're being very quiet today. Is everything alright?" she asked again.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I don't know, just a little…distracted I guess. I'm just sleepy," I said quickly.

Her eyes still held some concern, but I reassured her, "Really, I'm fine. I just need a little bit of time to get fully awake…oo, and maybe some coffee!" I said as I noticed the coffee pot on the table. I jumped up to get me some, and Colleen laughed. I was acting more like myself now. I got the biggest cup of coffee I could and returned to the table.

"_That's_ what I was missing!" I said as I sat down. "I drink coffee every morning, no wonder I'm not awake yet."

Colleen laughed, probably at my sudden rush of hyper-activeness. I soon drank that cup of coffee and went back for another. I had finished breakfast now, and so had Colleen.

"You're going to be wired ALL day!" she laughed.

"I know," I smiled.

I finished my second cup and we got up to go back to the dorm rooms. I grabbed my materials, put my drum on, and walked down the stairs to the fountain to find Colleen. Mr. Pesh led us to the practice field once everyone was at the fountain.

I was bouncing off the walls. I hadn't had this much energy since I don't know when. Maybe a similar time to this energy level was that time at Youth Camp. I had had about three sodas and two cups of coffee, and I was hopping up and down as we made our way to the concert that night. The concert lasted until midnight, and everyone was worn out but me. I was still experiencing high hyper levels, much like I was now. But it felt good. The drum majors called us to attention. I snapped my mallets to the sides of my bass drum and awaited the day's long practices.


End file.
